Faster…

Continued from A1 in the same period last year (full story here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/07/11/april-fdi-dip-on-global-slowdown-inflation/). to enter into agreements with other government agencies as well as publicprivate partnerships with companies with sufficient financial and appropriate technological capacity and establish agri-business ventures. export enterprise during the period of registration of the registered project.

He said the Marcos administration does not even have to do anything to attain this level of growth.

It also requires BuCor to craft its five-year Agriculture Development Plan.

Marcos urged other government agencies to develop similar joint initiatives to help achieve his administration's priorities.

“It is more pragmatic and effective to allocate our scarce resources wisely and ensure that all our initiatives are aligned, coordinated and integrated through a whole of nation approach,” Marcos said.

“By making innovation our priority, we can expedite the delivery of programs and services and build a more robust economy,” he added.

Also, within the first five years from the date of importation, the RBE shall secure the BOI approval before the “sale, transfer, or disposition” of the capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories which were granted customs duty exemption.

The BOI circular also cited a circumstance wherein the imported items will be used for a “non-registered” project or activity by the RBE at any time within the first five years from date of importation. Under this situation, it said, “the RBE shall secure prior approval from the BOI and pay the amount corresponding to the exempt customs duty on importation thereof.”

For part-time utilization in a non-registered project or activity, the amount corresponding to the customs duty exempt on a specific capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories “shall be paid in proportion to its utilization for the non-registered project or activity.”

To apply for VAT and customs duty exemption on importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts or accessories, the BOI circular requires these: Notarized BOI CAI application form and pro forma invoice or quotation from the supplier.

On top of such requirements, BOI said in case of importation of raw materials, a “Formula of Manufacture” per registered product, as certified by Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (ITDI-DOST); and other relevant documents, may be required by BOI.

The rules say the Certificate of Authority to Import is “non-transferable” and shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance, unless earlier invalidated or revoked.

“If the CAI remained unutilized during its validity period, the RBE shall surrender it to the BOI within 15 days from its expiration,” the circular noted.

PAGCOR REFUTES PLAGIARISM CLAIM, PROBES ‘FAKE NEWS’

The P hilippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) decried the recent circulation of screenshots on social media maliciously accusing Pagcor of plagiarizing the logo of a website called “Tripper”.

The allegation made against Pagcor is entirely false and driven by malicious intent. Throughout its operations, Pagcor has consistently upheld the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability, said the state gaming agency in a statement. The agency said it “remains dedicated to fostering a safe and thriving gaming industry in the country.” Nonetheless, Pagcor said it is actively investigating the “source of this malicious and baseless campaign and urges the public to exercise caution. At the outset, the website is lacking showing of credibility and in fact, bears resemblance to a phishing site.”

It urged everyone to be vigilant and to obtain information from credible sources to combat the spread of false narratives and protect themselves from potential scams.

Pagcor said it “remains dedicated to responsible gaming, regulation of the Philippine gaming industry and nation building.”

However, poverty reduction is crucial. Villegas said bringing poverty rates down was the Asian Miracle that propelled China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan into prosperity from the 1960s to the 1990s.

In 1978, Villegas said, the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping, then leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who opened up the Chinese economy, led to the "biggest miracle of the century" as it lifted 600 to 700 million Chinese from poverty.

At that time, China was growing steadily by 12 to 14 percent. This meant that the reduction in poverty in China happened only over a span of 20 years, Villegas said.

“China in less than 20 years redeemed 600 to 700 (million) poor people out of poverty. And so the challenge to Marcos is how to accelerate the growth rate from what I consider a mediocre 6 to 7 percent, even though it’s already the highest in the region, because we have a lot of catching up to do,” Villegas pointed out. In order to attain this growth, the Marcos administration needs to do three things, according to him: increase the productivity of the agriculture sector; increase the country’s investment-to-GDP ratio; and eradicate corruption.

Increasing the productivity of the agriculture sector means improving farm growth to 2 to 3 percent per year. Villegas noted that this level of growth is already significant in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Villegas said that even the country has not posted an annual growth at this level in many years. The country’s agriculture sector has only been growing at one percent or its growth starts at zero.

However, based on PSA data, agriculture sector growth increased by 2.1 percent in the first three months of the year. This is considered the highest growth of the sector in over two years.

“Agriculture is a very tricky sector. (You have) all sorts of pests, all sorts of climate, etc. So 2-3 percent is reasonable. He (the President) already knows how to do it. In fact, as Secretary of Agriculture, he has been getting so much good advice from the right people. I think he’s been doing his homework. I don't agree with people saying it was a mistake for him to become Secretary of Agriculture,” Villegas said.

Maharlika helpful

I N t erms of increasing investments, Villegas said the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) will be very helpful as this could draw in more investments.

This means bringing the country's investment-to-GDP ratio to at least 30 percent from the current 20 to 21 percent.

Villegas noted ratios of 25 to 35 percent among the country’s neighbors.

Based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the foreign direct investments (FDI) that entered the country reached $876 million in April 2023, a 14.1-percent contraction from the $1 billion recorded

Boracay…

Continued from A1

The final scores are averages of these responses,” said the international publication.

Tourist arrivals in Boracay reached 1.14 million in the first half of the year, according to data from the Malay-Boracay Tourism Office. Domestic travelers, at 899,775, accounted for close to 79 percent of total tourist arrivals for the period. Foreign tourists reached 214,754 or 19 percent of total arrivals, while overseas Filipino workers/overseas Filipinos at 27,281 accounted for just 2.4 percent of total arrivals for the period. The Bureau of Immigration defines overseas Filipinos as Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad.

Unlike prepandemic times, domestic travelers now dominate tourist arrivals in the island. Their arrivals in the first half of 2023 already represents 96.5 percent of the 932,433 recorded domestic tourists in the entire 2019.

Best tropical vacation Wh I le Palawan failed to make the

Villegas said the MIF could help finance infrastructure constraints, particularly in terms of addressing Right of Way Acquisition (ROWA) problems. The 1987 Constitution provides the State the power of eminent domain and what is needed is to better enforce this and implement through funding.

The only criticism Villegas had about the fund was the name which, he said, should be changed to the ‘Philippine Long-term Investment Fund.’ Changing the name, he believes, could make it acceptable to more Filipinos.

“This (increasing investment-to-GDP ratio) cannot be done from local sources. We are overborrowed, our savings rate is so low that we don't have long-term capital. This is why I want to call the Maharlika fund, the Philippine Long-term Investment Fund because it can be used as an instrument to address this problem by bringing in billions of dollars of foreign investments. That’s the only way. Our local sources have dried up, even the San Miguel’s, the Ayala’s don't have long-term capital,” Villegas said.

Corruption favorite islands list, the province landed the 23rd spot in T+l’s 29 Best Tropical Vacations Around the World, published in February this year, as well as the magazine’s 13 Places Where You Can See the Clearest Water in the World, published in May.

T HE t hird task, that of eradicating corruption, “is a no brainer” according to Villegas. However, he said, economic development can still be achieved even if corruption cannot be immediately eradicated.

One example is South Korea which is one of the Tiger economies and is already a first world country. Villegas said watching Korean drama already illustrates the deepseated inefficiencies of their government.

Villegas said South Korea sent three of its Presidents to jail for corruption. Malaysia, an advanced economy in Southeast Asia, also sent its former Prime Minister to jail for corruption for his involvement in the misuse of Malaysia’s wealth fund.

What is crucial is that there are policies in place that will work to wipe out corruption. Putting these policies in place will allow the government to do more in terms of economic development.

“I know it will not happen overnight.

But I always tell people, ‘yes corruption is so difficult to eradicate, it will take us years and years but don’t despair.’ Even if corruption continues to a certain extent, we can still become first world,” Villegas said.

Earlier, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) maintained its growth and inflation forecast for the Philippines this year and in 2024 despite global headwinds.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Amro Chief Economist Hoe Ee Khor said the Philippines is still expected to post a growth of 6.2 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year, while inflation is seen averaging 5.9 percent in 2023 and 3.8 percent in 2024.

Khor said the Philippine economy remains a service-oriented one and may be insulated from the slowdown of the trade of goods that is expected in other Asean economies (Full story: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2023/07/12/ amro-keeps-inflation-gdp-forecastsfor-phl/).

Wrote Melissa l o cker of the island-province’s inclusion in the clearest water list: “Although it's just a quick flight from Manila, Palawan feels like it's a world away.

The sparsely-populated archipelago is made up of jungle-filled islands surrounded by stunning teal waters teeming with fish and coral reefs and an incredible array of lagoons, coves, and secret beaches. e x plore the waters of e l Nido, where tropical fish swarm around the coral reefs, go diving in the azure ocean off of l i napacan Island, or bravely swim through one of the world’s longest underground rivers.”

According to the province’s tourism office, Palawan attracted 364,521 tourists in the first quarter of the year, of which 183,540 domestic visitors and 180,981 were international travelers. Prior to the pandemic, total tourist arrivals in Palawan reached 1.9 million.

PNP chief pushes closer coordination in prosecution of illegal drugs cases

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Na - tional Police chief Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda has directed the police force to coordinate with the prosecution in high profile cases, especially those relating to illegal drugs trade.

“I believe, the conviction rate would go up,” Acorda told the BusinessMirror over the weekend when he visited the police Camp Alagar here.

He said the police must ensure that there would be an “immediate involvement of the prosecution” especially in cases involving high profile criminals in the illegal drug trade.

“I want the police and the prosecution to be talking,” he said.

He said this was his thrust even before the Supreme Court criticized early this month the police, the prosecution and the court for bungling the P1-billion illegal drugs case of five Chinese nationals and a Filipino.

“These are the things that I want to avoid. We are quick to respond and to file cases but in terms of conviction, the rate is low,” he said.

It was also fortunate, he said, that there was also a prior issuance of a circular from the Department of Justice concerning the coordination and involvement of the prosecution and the police and the conduct of lectures and training on this.

He disclosed that there had been instances of pilferage of recovered drugs items “which has given the police the bad image.”

“I believe that it would help if there is immediate involvement of the prosecution, because we must admit that our police are not lawyers, and some of them have been in courses not really related to crime. What they only have in common is their training in investigation,” he said.

He said his administration would be focusing on “honest enforcement operation” and this would not only focus on the illegal drugs trade but also on criminal gangs and private armed groups.

“With this, I hope that we can increase the conviction rate,” he said.

SC junks petitions assailing constitutionality of govt measures to fight lingering Covid-19

THE Supreme Court (SC) has junked the petitions seeking to declare as unconstitutional the various issuances and policies issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippines (IATF), local government units (LGU) and government agencies imposing mandatory vaccinations against Covid-19.

The decision, according to a news statement released by the SC-Public Information Office (PIO), was reached during the regular en banc of the magistrates held on Tuesday, July 11.

In its resolution in the cases of G.R. No. 258619 (Montemayor, Jr. v. Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid and Emerging Infectious Diseases, et al.), G.R. No. 258746 (Passengers and Riders Organization (Pasahero), Inc., et al. v. Duque III, et al.) and G.R. No. 260327 (Perlas III, et al. v. The InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, et al.), the Court unanimously voted to dismiss the consolidated petitions for violation of the doctrine of hierarchy of courts.

Among the issuances and orders assailed by the petitioners were IATF Resolution No. 148-B, 148-G, 149, 150, 155, 163, and 164; IATF Guidelines on Nationwide Implementation of Alert